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It’s time to look at the game that came before Pokemon Go. Not many people know this, but Pokemon Go was actually copy and pasted from another game that Niantic made first. Copy and paste may be strong, but both games are quite similar and you can see how Ingress is essentially the beta version. As a result it’s pretty fun, but it really lacks the key aspects that make Pokemon Go so addicting and thus you’ll find yourself bored before long.

In the first place I picked up Ingress only because I wanted to be able to submit ideas for Pokestops in Pokemon Go. That seemed like a pretty fun goal to me, but then they said you had to be at least Level 10 to do so. That was when I stopped playing. I made it to Level 7, but each level doubles the EXP you need so it would have taken me a year at the most but at the minimum probably 8-9 months. That would be time that would have taken away from Pokemon Go and it was simply too much of an investment and I’ll let other players handle that one.

The goal of the game is to take over various points in the world for your team. There are the Green and Blue teams in the game so I went with classic Blue. Each location is essentially a Pokestop. (A little circle with a picture) You can drop off shields at the place and little generators to claim it as your own. If someone else owns it, then you have to destroy their generators before placing your own. If you take over multiple locations, you can use a Field Link to merge them and control a larger area. Nobody can take over a space that is in your area so it’s a good way to shut the opponent down. There isn’t really an end to the game but like Pokemon you can effectively say that you’ve beaten the game when you’re Level 16. That would take a really impressively long time to accomplish as well.

It’s tough going when you’re in the early levels since your weapons and defenses are weak. It will be impossible to take down any barrier that a high level has placed so stick to visiting all of the stops and getting what EXP you can. It’s really a game that is meant to be played while you’re exploring since there’s not a lot to do otherwise. There’s nothing to do if you stay in one place unless you live on a stop. (I live on two which is helpful but after spinning them then you’re stuck again) It’s a good game on the road and I may enjoy it more if Pokemon Go didn’t exist. This game is Pokemon Go, but without the Pokemon or the Gym Battling which makes it quite a bit less encicing.

Once you start playing you’ll get hooked on it, but eventually the fad will pass. I’d say that I lasted quite a while all things considered. Maybe I’ll check out the game again someday if they lower the level limit, but all mobile games stop eventually and this is just my time for checking out. The graphics are okay, but it’s not as if there is much to show. There are no creatures or anything, just a few simple animations. There is no real music in the game. There may be a main theme although I can’t remember it, but it won’t be earning any stars in that regard. As far as replay value goes, it’s essentially infinite so that’s a plus I suppose.

The game is at its best if you’re playing it with a few friends. Since it’s about taking over the neighborhood, it’s naturally fun with a group. On your own, you’re outnumbered and you’ll just have to really enjoy the process of playing the game since anything you do will likely be undone by the time you go back home. This will depend on how busy your area is of course, but at least in mine there are a ton of active players. Then there are also the likely bots and spoofers running around as well.

Overall, Ingress is a well made game, albeit a limited one if you’re on your own. It’s just very repetitive and while you can say that for just about every mobile game, it’s not quite as enjoyable as those. The game is also very vague on everything so if you want to learn what you’re actually doing it is advised that you look for the information online or go straight to Reddit. If you’re outside a lot and like visiting places then it’s a good idea to download this app and have fun getting the points. On the other hand, I’d recommend doing the same with Pokemon Go. At the end of the day, you need to decide which game is more fun and just pick one. You can’t have both open at the same time with one phone so if you play both then one is always missing out. That’s why I ended up choosing Pokemon. Ingress definitely wouldn’t rank as highly as most of the other Mobile games I’ve played, but it is tragic to an extent since it probably would get a much higher score if Pokemon Go didn’t exist. It’s just how it goes and you can’t help but compare the two as you’re playing. Maybe one day they’ll link both games with rewards or something, that would definitely be interesting. I am also interested in the new Harry Potter game that the company is working on as well. That should definitely be fun but like Ingress I’d probably only check it out for a little while. Ingress lasted a month and a half before I called it quite, we’ll see if Harry Potter can even last that long!

I now have a Shiny Magikarp! At long last, Shinies are no longer a dream. In other news, I also caught a Suicune and an Entei since my last update. Currently the only Pokemon I am missing aside from Regional Exclusives and other Shinies is the Unknown. Hopefully he’ll spawn before Gen 3 comes out in December but if not that’s fine. Every step closer to completing the Pokedex is a solid step.

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I have finally reached Level 40! In a sense, I feel like I’ve finally completed the game. Getting to this point was always my biggest goal. Now that it’s completed my priority is completing the Pokedex. I’m just missing 2 (Not counting regional exclusives) which are Miltank and Unknown. After I get those two, the final main goal is to catch a Top caliber (81%LV or higher) of each Pokemon evolution route. This game has definitely been intense and soon I’ll finally have my own Blaziken! He is officially going to be my Buddy Pokemon for ages and I’m gonna take him to all the gyms

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Time for an update guys! I have finally reached the elusive level 39! Now I just have one level to go until I have maxed out and completed a major part of the game. Completing the Pokedex will be the other big mission left at that point. Conversely I have also managed to capture Articuno (X4) and Lugia. It feels good to be able to activate the top tier Legendary pockets when necessary.

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I forgot to post this a little while ago, but I’m now level 38! According to an online estimate I should make it to 40 in around 6 months. Then I’ll have effectively completed the game!! Til then I aim to catch more Pokemon and keep everyone on the ropes.

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I am now Level 37! Feels good! So apparently I’m about halfway to level 40 now. That’s not half bad and the current estimate says that I’ll beat the game in a little under a year. That’ll definitely be a huge accomplishment!

*This photo was taken from Google. I didn’t get to grab my own photo and there was no normal default level 37 pic like the other levels. I guess this is where a lot of people dropped off!*